Stephen, ain't no thing but a chicken wing! In fact, it's not even a chicken wing. It is less than a chicken wing. :-) It's not the first time Brad and I have been mistaken for one another. I'm sure it will not be the last. :-)

I'll shut up.  Because I admire the host and many here and do not want to cause contention.

But I keep waiting for that "Emperor's New Clothes" moment...

It's like everyone SAYS it's great but I keep wondering.  Why don't I see the clothes?

And sorry Brian for dragging you down.  I owe you one cuz!

The issue has breakdowns by JR and finishes by Frank Miller, which I really enjoyed.

I like that GL above for the most part, but it points to a wrong turn I think the Dark Knight series took mid-way through the original story. Clark called Bruce and left a message in issue #1 saying he'd be out of town. Way out of town. That was exactly ALL the connection to the larger DCU that Dark Knight or Batman ever needed. At that point, we were left to enjoy a purely Batman-esque reading experience... To really get into that character and his world. Unfortunately, the decision to bring in specific political figures and the unabashed kewlness of having Batman and his political point of view take down Superman and his more concessionary approach made the book about something else. It still works because those were points worth making and Batman IS about that to some extent, but the point is made at the expense of Superman and the individual flavor and sense of Batman's own storytelling world.

DK II threw the idea of a Batman story out the window and simply made it a big JLA story in which the guy they're up against is Batman, as they are made, one by one, to kiss his ass or get mowed down by him. It's Batman, but the Batman of the JLA, a different guy than the Batman himself. The issues are different. The context is wrong. The sense of scale is warped.

DK III looks like more of the same. I like the Batman who works with others, don't get me wrong, but there is a Batman who operates within his own world that has been forgotten about in all this. Unfortunately, with the video games being what they are, that world has now been reduced to three sets; the Batcave; corrupt Police Headquarters; and of course, the true center of the DCU, the only place of any interest to anyone whatsoever, Arkham Asylum, where the only really cool characters in the DCU hang out... And they do hang out there, because really, they can leave anytime they want... If they're in a cell, it's because it suits their purposes to do so, and for no other reason. 'Cause they're cool. (Seriously, I saw a Mystery Mini figure of the Scarecrow the other day. They ARE cool!)

A Green Lantern cover to a supposedly quintessentially Batman comic not only dilutes the Batman, subsumes him into a more confused and meaningless context, but it deprives us of a book that might have been about BATMAN for a change and not the badass DCU fix-it-guy who has to wipe everybody else's noses for them.

i do not like JR Jr and i never have.

i think he has limited range in faces, and i hate how he draws hands.

i think if he came on the scene right now, he might not get work, as i think his style isnt broad enough. he's scribbly, he's too raw, he's too non-realistic.

i think his superman is atrocious. DD:MWF sucked.

just because he can 'storytell' doesnt mean he's an excellent artist.

he's mid-range in the spectrum of all the artists in comics.

he's not one of the greats, plain and simple.

i think his style is similar to Sal Buscema, and maybe later Miller.

im not a big fan of Sal, but he can storytell much better.

Miller can do 'straight' art if he wants or his newer scribbly style. 

how i read so many people saying Miller sucks, but JR Jr doesnt is beyond me. even now i like Miller's new stuff way more than JR Jr's

again THIS IS MY OPINION. this is all just opinions. but its fun to debate.

on my scale of 1-10 at #9: Adams, Byrne, Perez, Smith...

JR Jr is a 5.  Leifeld is a 3.

i just couldnt read 5 pages of praise and not say something  :)

(i didnt read all 5 pages)

but the dick nose is a good place to start...

with the exception of the B&W spider-man, every example i see on this thread i am repulsed by. this is a tall boast, and i currently have no way to prove it...i actually think i can draw better than JR Jr. Not a whole comic, just one drawing. (ive only drawn 30 sequential pages twice over 20 yrs ago, so...thats too tall a boast). i know im going to get some shit for that, but hey...its what i think.